CH 28

Carthage Must Fall Anyway

Hilbert II’s coup d’état was successful because he secured the support of four of the five great powers, with the exception of the Federation of Gireshtal.

Of these, the greatest achievement was probably the Kingdom of Noacurio. Noacurio, which was geographically adjacent, promised Hilbert that it would deploy in case of emergency, and gathered troops on its borders. This led to an avalanche of lords descending on Hilbert. In short, the kingdom of Noacurio would have to be destroyed.

The Empire of Khenis had promised to send troops as well, but it was too far away to make any move. However, if Khenis, the strongest of the five great powers in terms of pure military power, was behind it, it would have been a great help to Hilbert in persuading the lords.

In short, the empire of Khenis would have to be destroyed.

The Holy Kingdom of Diletta promised to “recognize the new government as a nation” and to provide it with humanitarian aid and support.

In Diletta, there existed the “Office of the Grand Deity”, which was the center of the belief in the Great God. This institution was originally supposed to be independent of the state, but in effect, it was halfway integrated into the government of the Holy Kingdom. The Office of the Grand Deity recognized the “legitimate power to fight against the Evil God” to the governments of the various countries.

To be recognized by Diletta was almost the same as to be recognized by the Office of the Grand Deity. Well, it was very rare for the Office of the Grand Deity not to recognize a government, but when there was a civil war or political upheaval, they would often decide to wait and see what would happen. Therefore, the smooth approval granted would have been an encouragement to Hilbert’s new administration.

The humanitarian aid program was designed to provide charity through temples during the period of turmoil following the transition of power. While humanitarian aid in name, it was in reality material and financial support for the new administration during the period of turmoil.

In short, the Holy Kingdom of Diletta would have to be destroyed.

The Republic of Faraiya, however, could not get its congressional representatives on the same page, so it only cooperated modestly by providing funds from its secret budget and dispatching a small-scale task force.

However.

The task force that was dispatched included the same “useful b*stard” who had instructed the knights in “torture”.

René regarded the Republic of Faraiya as an enemy worthy of destruction a hundred times over, even if only for that one point.

＊ ＊ ＊

The tattered priest’s uniform was stuck to the wall by the splattered flesh and blood.

In front of it, Panilla (René) held her head and crouched down on the floor.

“Ugh … I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m … u, uh … uh … I’m …”

Panilla (René) cried, her face crumpled up.

She vomited so much that she even threw up her stomach juices again, not to mention the supper she had just eaten.

Like a spell or a charm, she repeated the same words like a broken robot.

Dark memories circulated in her head, as if she were looking through a kaleidoscope of dark colors.

The pain she felt, the fear, the anger and despair. Panilla (René) relived all of it.

Panilla (René) felt as if she heard her heart creaking.

–No… if I stay still… this will all be over…

Although she didn’t use a spell magic, the smell of blood this much would be noticed by the noses of the holy beasts.

So she had to do something about it as soon as possible.

But she was too scared and sorrowful to move her body.

“…≪Laundry≫…!”

She raised her voice as if she were shaking it out and used magic.

Swirling water gushed out from her hands.

This “Evidence Concealment” magic secretly washed clothes, beds, walls, and whatever the target was.

But that was the limit.

“Haaah… haa…!”

René looked up.

Breathing roughly, even though her body already required no breathing.

Her hair, like silver threads, fell freely. Her body was no longer Panilla’s. She had turned into a girl with silver hair and silver eyes. She was in Revenant form.

Exposed to extreme fear, René had spontaneously turned into a battle-ready undead.

But being undead gave René’s mind a little peace. She was barely able to hold on to the threads of her psyche.

No longer tired, no longer needing to sleep, eat, or breathe. A body without blood (depending on the form) had no body heat, no sense of touch, and felt no pain from physical damage. When in spirit form, it was even freed from the weight of its flesh, and she saw the world not through the five senses, but through magical perception.

The body of the undead was too different from that of a human being in terms of “the sensation of being”. Therefore, the wounds suffered when she was in human form could be perceived as distant.

René fearfully touched her shoulder. It was different from before. Undead bodies had dull senses.

During possession, the senses also become those of the possessed subject. To the fragile human body, the world was full of vivid stimuli. It was sometimes inspiring, but sometimes…

The director merely grabbed her by the shoulders. Yet René was evoked by the fear and humiliation that was etched deep in her mind.

The situation was too coincidental with René’s memories.

A living hell that denied all human dignity. The memories of the games of debauchery in the name of “torture”.

–Also, I have misjudged … my weakness.

René was just a wounded girl who had gained mighty power through the Divine Protection of the Evil God.

She should have known this time. She had heard what was going on in this orphanage. She thought she could handle it calmly.

She didn’t expect to be terrified by someone who couldn’t even use holy magic.

However, there was no time to regret this error in judgment.

Although she immediately blocked out her presence, there was no telling if the holy beasts might have sensed the moment René turned undead. Then it would be a race against time.

Killing Viscount McGregor and escaping. She should have stopped gathering information and retrieved Tracy as well, just in case. For that, she had to get up.

Teeth … already clenched.

Fists … already clenched.

So René painted her heart with anger. She painted her fear and pain with anger, and then she stood up.

She would never forgive those who had hurt her. She would hunt down those she hated, even if they ran away to the end of the world.

Pulling the folded call mark from her clothes pocket, René activated it.

“Tracy, change of plans. They may have noticed. I’m going to … play some tricks to fool the noses of the holy beasts, and then you can retreat and join me right away. And use the ‘Silver Mirror Mask’.”

＊ ＊ ＊

To get a living, you have to pay a price.

For Eunice, it was simple.

The money from the temple was not enough to provide for everyone, the Director said.

Eunice said that there was something she could do.

At first, Eunice counted Viscount McGregor’s visits as though she was fighting against something.

But after twenty visits, Eunice stopped counting.

It became a routine for Eunice.

She can’t say she was accustomed to it. In fact, she hated it, since Viscount McGregor was clearly the worst kind of person.

Still, she thought that if she could protect all the children at her own expense, it would be fine.

–But I’m leaving … this orphanage.

The orphanage only allowed her to stay there until she reached adulthood.

It was no different for Eunice, the “breadwinner” of the orphanage.

They did not keep her.

If Eunice was gone, there were plenty of replacements for her.

–I’ve worked so hard to … ‘if I could only be on my own’ all the way to today, and now I’m just going to abandon everyone who remains and go away?

Eunice continued to wonder.

She was realistic in her thinking that she couldn’t possibly take care of everyone forever.

Moratorium thinking that she wanted to help everyone, even if it was only to postpone the problem.

Her thoughts were solidified when she heard that Viscount McGregor would be coming tomorrow.

–I don’t know if he’ll listen, but I’ll tell the Director again. I’ll tell him to stop doing this … I’ll work and donate for everyone, and stop making them do that…

Before bedtime, Eunice turned her feet to the Director’s office.

Her feet felt strangely heavy.

But Eunice stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a child crying from the end of the hallway.

–Is someone there? A girl …? No way!

A hopeless possibility. The night before Eunice greeted Viscount McGregor for the first time, she received ‘instruction’ from the Director.

She thought that the other girls would be fine until she left. But that may have been an overly optimistic thought.

Eunice started.

The crying stopped before she knew it.

She jumped at the door of the Director’s office. It wouldn’t open.

“Teacher. Are you there!? Is there someone with you!?”

She threw a frantic voice through the door, and a few moments later, there was a reply.

“… I’m the only one there, Eunice.”

“Panilla!? I thought I heard crying…”

“I’m fine.”

“Panilla, you sound…”

“I just have a little bit of a cold.”

Eunice thought the voice sounded a little strange, although she identified it as Panilla by the way she spoke.

Even discounting the fact that it was through the door, it was a little different. Panilla’s voice sounded lower, more gravelly.

But if that were the case, who would be imitating Panilla’s voice here? Was it just because of her tearful voice that she sounded different from usual?

Eunice felt uncomfortable, but she did not pay any more attention to it. She had more important things to do right now.

“Where is the Director?”

“I don’t know. He left suddenly.”

“Huh? Well, so … I understand. But more importantly, could you please open this door for me?”

Thinking about it calmly, something was strange.

If the Director was not there, why was the room locked from the inside?

Why was Panilla alone in the room?

Why was Panilla crying?

“… You are strong, Eunice. I even envied you a little bit.”

“Eh…?”

A voice was heard through the door from nearby, and with a clang, the door unlocked.

Eunice almost kicked the door open.

Neither Panilla nor the Director were there.

“Panilla…?”

The curtains were fluttering in the air.

The window was open and a cold night breeze blew in, leaving only a faint smell of blood that could not be dispelled.